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Man throwing arms in air in celebration, split image with two people in red shirts next to TV presenter© BBC Studios

Bargain Hunt's best moments: from biggest win and loss to celebrity scandal

The popular BBC antiques show turns 25

Nicky Morris
TV and film writer
3 days ago
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Happy Birthday, Bargain Hunt! The popular BBC antiques show celebrates 25 years on our screens, having first aired on 13 March 2000.

The daytime programme sees two pairs of contestants given one hour to spend up to £300 at an antiques fair, which they then sell at auction in the hopes of making the biggest profit.

As the show turns 25, take a trip down memory lane as HELLO! looks at some of the best moments, from the biggest win to the headline-making celebrity scandal and unforgettable finds.

Man with orange glasses smiling at camera© Mark Westwood/Shutterstock

Biggest win

The biggest profit made by a single team took place just two years into the show's run in 2002. 

Ally and Diane, who made up the blue team, were shopping at Ardingly antiques fair in West Sussex with expert Michael Hogben when they discovered a George Johnson 1908 Royal Worcester flamingo trinket box. 

They paid £140 for the item before selling it for £800 at auction, making an impressive profit of £660, according to the BBC. 

Man in suit sitting on the grass© BBC Studios

Biggest loss

As for the biggest loss, expert Tim Weeks and his blue team spent £60 on a vintage ice cream fridge but failed to sell the item at auction, despite lowering the starting bid to a mere 50 pence.

Two people in red t-shirts next to two people in blue t-shirts© BBC

Celebrity cheating scandal

Bargain Hunt made headlines in 2018 when band members from the Happy Mondays and Pulp went head to head in a special episode for BBC Music Day. 

Bez managed to get his team disqualified by artificially inflating prices of items, breaking the show's rules.

By the end of the episode, the Happy Mondays had made a profit of £8 for their vintage rustic novelty mirror, a biscuit tin and mid-century record player. However, a member of the production crew noticed that Bez's girlfriend had been bidding on the items, winning two at auction.

As a result, the ending of the episode was reshot, with Pulp walking away victorious. 

"It was a genuine error," said Bez, who paid the £8 profit out of his own pocket. "My girlfriend thought she was helping out."

Two Fabergé Flowers on a table© BBC

Unforgettable finds

There have been countless incredible finds on the show over the years, but a few are more memorable than others. 

In 2019, two Fabergé Flowers turned up in a shoebox at Charles Hanson's auction house. The rare items were two out of 34 in the UK, with the late Queen owning 28 in The Royal Fabergé Collection. The flowers sold for a whopping £340,000 at auction. 

Another impressive find, and one of the show's most valuable, is an 18th Century Chinese 'teapot' which was found during a clear-out of a loft in Burton and almost taken to a charity shop. 

The rare item, which would have been used as a ceremonial teapot by the court of Emperor Qianlong in the 18th century, sold at auction for £390,000.

Bargain Hunt airs on BBC One and iPlayer at 12.15pm.

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